The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
In Decollatione S. Ioannis Baptistae
On this day the Church honours the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist, the Forerunner of the Lord, who was beheaded by Herod for boldly rebuking sin, and who sealed with his blood the witness he had borne to Christ.
While the Church keeps the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist in June, on the twenty-ninth of August she commemorates his death — his “decollation,” or beheading. John, the Precursor sent before the face of the Lord, had spent his life in the desert and along the Jordan, preaching penance and pointing out the Lamb of God; and he crowned that life of witness by laying it down for the truth. The Gospel itself recounts the manner of his death, so that on this feast the Church remembers a martyrdom narrated in the sacred page.
The witness that cost his life
Saint John had fearlessly rebuked Herod Antipas for unlawfully taking to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother. For this plain word of truth John was cast into prison; and though Herod feared and even revered him, knowing him to be a just and holy man, he kept him bound to please Herodias, who nursed a deadly grudge against him. The Gospel relates how, on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the king and his guests and so pleased him that he swore to give her whatever she should ask. Prompted by her mother, she demanded the head of John the Baptist on a dish. Grieved, yet bound by his rash oath and unwilling to lose face before his guests, Herod sent an executioner, who beheaded John in the prison. His disciples took up his body and laid it in a tomb.
The Forerunner in death as in life
So the greatest of those born of women, of whom the Lord Himself bore such testimony, went before Christ in death as he had gone before Him in birth and in preaching, dying for the sake of justice and truth. The Church has always honoured John as a martyr, the herald who bore witness to the Light even unto the shedding of his blood. The collect of the day prays that the venerable festival of Saint John the Baptist, the Lord’s Forerunner and Martyr, may obtain for us the effect of saving help.
This feast, kept in red as befits a martyr, completes the Church’s yearly remembrance of the Baptist, joining the celebration of his birth to the commemoration of his holy death. In him the faithful behold the courage to speak the truth without fear, and the reward of those who are faithful unto the end.
The Collect
May the venerable festival of Saint John the Baptist, Thy Precursor and Martyr, we beseech Thee, O Lord, bestow upon us the effect of saving help.
Sancti Ioánnis Baptístæ Præcursóris et Mártyris tui, quæsumus, Dómine, veneránda festívitas: salutáris auxílii nobis præstet efféctum.
Patronage
Saint John the Baptist is venerated as the Forerunner of the Lord and patron of many churches and peoples; this feast honours especially his martyrdom for the truth.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this commemoration is observed on the same day, 29 August, as an obligatory memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist.
Common Questions
When is the feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist?
It is kept on 29 August in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast. The modern calendar observes the same day as the memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist.
Why does the Church keep two feasts of Saint John the Baptist?
The Church celebrates his Nativity on 24 June — a rare honour, as the birthdays of only our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and Saint John are kept — and commemorates his martyrdom, or beheading, on 29 August. Together they honour the whole of his witness, in birth, in preaching, and in death.
How did Saint John the Baptist die?
According to the Gospel, he was beheaded in prison by order of Herod Antipas, whom he had rebuked for an unlawful marriage. At a banquet the daughter of Herodias, pleasing Herod with her dancing, asked at her mother’s prompting for John’s head, and Herod, bound by a rash oath, granted it. The Church honours him as a martyr for the truth.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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